Crownless: The Fallen World - Chapter 12

Aires laughed, lightly pulling Hale behind him, “Is it? I’ve been working hard for this since I was allowed to train. It was hellish. If someone ever offered you with training, outright refuse them. No one knows if it is a scam.”

The small female jokingly slapped Aires’ arm, “Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the warning, little brother,” She looked at her wristwatch, “Well then, I won’t linger further. Mrs. Grafton told me that you both have to go back to school tomorrow. See you again in the wedding, okay? Good night~”

Mirabella closed the distance to kiss Aires’ cheek then turned to Hale to give him one too. Before her lips land on Hale’s cheek, Aires bent over and it landed on him instead, “Oh my. What a great second treat. You two should go now, time is so precious. Good night.”

The fiancé and Hale stared at Aires with fire in their eyes, both thought that Aires was interested in the small female. Hale pulled Aires away, the same happened to the small female, being pulled by her fiancé.

“Hale, you should pack now then sleep. We have a lot to face starting tomorrow.” Aires turned his heels to leave but a small tug stopped him.

“Are you interested in Mirabella?”

“… what the fck are you saying? You were uncomfortable around her, so I caught all her affection to at least lessen your burden.”

“Oh… thank you. I’m sorry too, I never noticed.”

“Naah. Isn’t this what brothers do? We have to support each other and be each other’s pillar.”

“Y-yeah. You’re right.”

“You don’t have to agree though. Alright, we’re only wasting time here. Go and pack, yeah?” Aires rested his big hand on Hale’s head and tousled it with a soft smile. The latter’s eyes never left the dark abysmal orbs of the taller male.

“See you tomorrow then.”

“Good night.” Aires bid the smaller then walked into his room, locking it. He stared blankly at the bed before sliding down on the door, clutching his head while slightly pulling his dark locks.

“I can’t… I can’t keep up pretending I never noticed his affection to me. Why is it me, Hale? Why…” He stayed in a fetal position longer than he expected. The night got deeper, the sounds of crickets echoed from the huge glass window, the now small patters of rain in the balcony, and the rustle of the trees with the cold night wind.

He lifted his head to look outside. His gaze softened at the bright moon that peeked at the window, lighting his dark room. He forced himself to stand to lay on the bed. He leaped then bounced on the soft mattress, engulfing his stiff figure in a soft sensation. All of his worries disappeared in that very time, letting himself fall asleep.

—–

It was 3.12 am when Aires jolted awake from the bed. He sensed a disturbance for about 2 kilometers away from the Grafton mansion. He ran towards the window to see what was happening.

The disturbance lasted just for a fleeting moment before it disappeared. His eyes squinted as he prodded further before concluding that it was just an energy cloud passing by then it disappeared because of the lack of resources.

When he was fixing the bed, a delivery drone knocked on the window. He opened it and let the drone enter as it materialized his possessions. He signed the parcel on the screen then bid goodbye to the small drone.

Aires opened his Holowrist, inputted his password before leading him into the holospace backpack where he can store his in-hand things without any reserve. He pointed his Holowrist at his delivered goods and it got sucked in as a hologramed object. The goods appeared in boxes, he sorted them out before he pulled out his all black clothes and a thick towel.

He exited his room then walked to the bathroom to take a bath. He saw Hale who came out of the bathroom, all freshened up. Aires can even smell the scented shampoo the smaller male used.

“Good morning,” Aires greeted with a wide smile and a terrible bedhead, his hair stuck out in every possible angle. Hale would be lying if he said he didn’t find this adorable. After all, it’s rare to see the strongest student that just got out of bed. If he was lucky, he might hear Aires’ morning voice. Ugh.

“Good morning! I prepared breakfast beforehand, since we’ll be driving to the academy and it’s already 3.25 am, the food will be eaten while driving. See you at your car, lovely brother!”

“That’s very convenient. Thanks! I’ll be done in a jiffy.”

The two turned around, the other entered the bathroom filled with the scent of the previous person who used it while the other left to fix the food before going down to the car.

Aires was freshened up after 10 minutes which he painstakingly tried his best to be fast enough. After he bid his goodbyes to the people in the Grafton mansion, he whistled as he walked towards the huge door.

He saw Hale leaning against the car with a lunchbox in his hands. But then, he felt the same disturbance this morning, and it was dangerously close. Aires’ eyes widened as he felt it just behind Hale, his heart pumped a lot of blood, danger signals were heightened, as he bolted with all of his might to take Hale into safety.

It was all fast that the both of them failed to notice how the car exploded, trees caught fire as it spread around the area. Screams filled the atmosphere, dread descended to the people inside the mansion as they looked at the bloody scene.